From Twitter to You
by LunaticYoukai
Summary: When the reserved Sonoda Umi fall in love with one of her Twitter's follower - AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : I do not own Love Live!**

* * *

"YOU GOT A SMARTPHONE?!"

"Yes Nico. And could you please stop shouting in my ears?" Umi sighed for she doesn't know how many times. She slowly unwrap the lunch box that her mother made for her.

"But, it's Sonoda Umi we're talking about! The _Yamato Nadeshiko;_ Sonoda Umi!" raven-haired girl said in a really high spirit, making her hair that tied in a twin tail bounced in the air.

"It's not a big deal isn't it?" said another voice coming from behind. "Umi is a teenager after all." A blonde walked to their direction while holding her own lunch box.

"You're too extravagating Nico-chan." A red-haired girl who had been sitting in silent finally spoke, still didn't avert her eyes from the book in her hand.

"But...!"

"No more buts." The blonde sat beside Umi and began to open her lunch. "It's lunch time. Let's just eat our lunch instead of arguing over a silly thing. Okay Nico?"

The raven haired girl finally gave up and nodded.

Umi observed the interaction exchange between her friends and she couldn't help but curled her lips up into a smile. Her group of friend consist a member of four. Two third years which are Yazawa Nico and Ayase Eli, a first year Nishikino Maki and herself Sonoda Umi.

Sonoda Umi was indeed known as the school _Yamato Nadeshiko_. When she was enrolled to senior high two years ago, she decided that she would join the archery club which she didn't know would bring a great popularity for her. Not only she's great in archery, she really great at other like kendo, calligraphy, tea ceremony, she can do it all. Even in her second year, her popularity was on par with the student council president who is also her best friend Ayase Eli. Not only her talent in archery, her looks and traits were also a part of her popularity. Long silky blue hair, sparkling brown eyes combined with her reserved yet shy personality has proven to make the girls fall for her. Despite being an all girl school, Umi already received a countless letter of confession and chocolate every time valentine days is coming.

Umi never really considering the need for her to bought a smartphone. If someone has a business with her, they could just contact her via her house phone or talk to her directly. It was not until yesterday night that her mother decided to give one for her. She said that so it could be easier for her to contact Umi wherever she is.

"So.." Nico finished chewing her meal and swallowed it, reaching for her drink. "Have you made a Twitter account yet?"

Umi who has just finished drinking wiped her mouth with a tissue and looked at Nico with a little confusion. "Twitter? What is that?"

Nico's jaw dropped open. She looked at her friend in disbelief. "For God sake Umi, it's 2015 and you don't even know what Twitter is?!"

Eli chuckled beside her. She thought that it was only natural for Umi to not known what Twitter is. "Twitter is a social networking. It is mainly used for people to share about their interest and other stuff." Eli explained it for her in the simplest way.

"I see." While holding her chin, Umi nodded several times.

Nico let out a sigh and leaned on her chair. "Give me your phone. I'll make an account for you."

Umi hesitanly answered. "But I don't find the need for me to have it."

"Come on Umi, even the Tsundere Maki-chan have one!"

"And what's that suppose to mean?" Maki glared at the smaller girl beside her.

"I mean what I said." Nico turned her head to look at the red-head direction and glared back. Maki let out a sigh. She decided to let it off before it grew into useless argument.

Before handed her phone to Nico, Umi turned to ask Eli. "Do you have a Twitter account too Eli?"

"Yes I do. Sometimes it's easier for me to make an announcement via Twitter." said Eli.

Umi turned her head to her other friend. "And what about you, Maki?"

"Just as Nico-chan said, I have one. Though I don't use it very often." Didn't averted her eyes from her book, Maki answered.

"See? Everyone already had an account. Now it's time for you to have one yourself." Nico smiled triumphantly.

Umi sighed in defeat. She had no excuses to refuse Nico. She took her phone off from her skirt's pocket and gave it to Nico. After taking Umi's phone, Nico immediately tapped her finger on Umi's phone screen. Since it was really fast, Umi had no idea what Nico was doing right now.

"Okay, let's begin. Full name is... Sonoda... Umi." Nico typed Umi's name while letting her voice out so that Umi would know what she was doing. After finished typing, Nico looked at Umi and asked her a question. "You have an email don't you?"

Umi nodded in return.

"Then type it here." Nico gave Umi's phone back to her. Umi did as Nico said and hand her phone back to Nico.

"Okay and now type your password here. Remember to memorized it." they repeated what they did before.

"Is it okay if I make your username to 'sonodaumi'?" Nico asked the bluenette without looking at her.

Again, Umi nodded.

After several minutes typing on Umi's phone, finally Nico smiling in satisfied.

"Here." Nico hand back the phone in her hand to its rightful owner. "I've set a profile pictures and the header for you and had you followed me, Maki-chan and Eli. I didn't write anything on your bio, but I did put a location." Nico explain about everything she did.

Umi looked at her phone. She could see 'Nagoya' was written beneath her profile picture.

"Thank you, Nico." Umi observe her phone for a while. "So, how do I make a call?"

Nico groaned in frustration. "Umi, we can't make a call with Twitter!" Nico get up from her seat and took another sit beside Umi. She explained everything about Twitter and its function until the bell rang.

* * *

"A 124 FOLLOWERS IN ONE NIGHT?!" the raven-haired girl shouted.

As usual when lunch break comes, Umi would gather with her friends in the garden behind the school building. It was always been their favorite spot to meet.

"Is that weird?" Umi tilted her head.

"It is! You even beaten Nico-nii's record!" feeling beaten, Nico pouted while sipping the juice in her hand.

"Umi always beat you." Maki looked at the smaller girl chest, and then at the bluenette, after that back to Nico's chest. "In all respects."

Nico looked at where Maki's eyes directed and she suddenly got up from her seat. "Hey! Is that supposed to be an insult?!"

"Come on, stop it you two!" Eli tried to stop them before their arguments gotten bigger. "I know Umi was popular but getting 124 in one night?" Eli shifted her eyes to the bluenette beside her and looked at her in awe.

"You don't look to happy about it?" Maki asked her.

Umi let out a sigh. "Every time a person followed me, I feel bad if I didn't visit their profile and said thank you. Because of that I didn't get a proper night sleep."

"You said thank you to every person who followed you?! Seriously?!" as always Nico asked while shouting.

"Can I borrow your phone?" Eli asked Umi for permission.

"Sure." Umi handed her phone to Eli. Nico and Maki shifted their seat so that they could see the content in Umi's phone too.

' _Thank you for following me.'_

' _Thank you for following me.'_

' _Thank you for following me.'_

' _Thank you for following me.'_

Eli keep sliding Umi's phone screen down. The three of them exchange glances at each other and said in unison. "Don't tell me..."

"Is there something wrong?" Umi frowned.

Without answering Umi's question, Maki, Nico and Eli burst out laughing.

"Umi...you forget to...mention them...!" trying her best to talk between her laugh, Eli held her stomach.

"On top of that..." Nico wiped the tears in her eyes. "You didn't even follow them back!" She burst out another laugh.

"I can't believe all the 124 tweets you made everything was 'thank you for following me'." Maki covered her mouth, trying to stop her laughter.

"I-it's because Nico didn't explain it properly to me!" Umi tried to defend herself, but her friends keep laughing and so she sighed in defeat.

"God, that was a really good laugh." Nico took a deep breath.

"Who would've thought that the charming Sonoda Umi could make this kind of mistake." smiling, Maki opened the water bottle in her hand and took a sip from it.

"That's Sonoda Umi for you." Before handed back Umi's phone, Eli move closer to where Umi is at. "See Umi, if you want to say thank you, you have to mention that person or else they wouldn't notice it."

This time, it was Eli's turn to explain how Twitter's work to Umi and Umi sure she would like it better than Nico's.

* * *

Later that night, Umi found that her phone was still buzzing nonstop just like yesterday. After finished studying, she took her phone from her desk and lay herself down on her bed while playing with her phone. She opened the Twitter application Nico had installed and then beginning to read her notification. Like yesterday, almost her notification was telling her that she got a new follower. When she was just about to visit every new follower she gain, her phone was buzzing.

It was a mention from Eli.

' _Don't tell me you're going to say thank you again sonodaumi'_

Umi touch the reply button and started tapping.

' _ayaseeli I'm about to do that. Is that something wrong?'_

Not long after sending her tweet, her phone buzzed again.

' _sonodaumi ayaseeli wroooooong! You don't usually say thank you to every people that followed you. Right nishikinomaki?'_

' _yazawanico sonodaumi ayaseeli Nico-chan is right, Umi.'_

Umi frowned.

' _nishikinomaki yazawanico ayaseeli but, isn't that kind of rude?'_

' _sonodaumi nishikinomaki ayaseeli no it's not. Beside you don't have any obligation to say thank you to them.'_

' _yazawanico sonodaumi nishikinomaki Nico is right Umi. Just follow back the people you know. No need to thank them.'_

After thinking about what they said for awhile, Umi finally agree with them.

' _ayaseeli yazawanico nishikinomaki I guess you're right.'_

Umi started picking the people she knew from her followers and followed them back. As well as the people she thought she knew from the suggestion friend. She then composed a new tweet.

' _It was really tiring...'_

Right after sending her last tweet, her phone buzzed again. Indicating another notification has come. She opened her notification tab to found out that she got a new follower.

"Minami...Kotori?" Umi muttered the name displayed on her phone screen.

As long as she could remember, she doesn't have any friends named Minami Kotori especially when she knew that Minami Kotori lives in Tokyo. As usual, Umi opened her new follower profile like she always did if she had a new follower. There's a small display on her phone saying that she had one follower in common named Tojo Nozomi. Umi frowned. She didn't remember, following an account named Tojo Nozomi. The bluenette decide to pay Tojo Nozomi's profile a visit. When she saw that their common followers is Ayase Eli, she realized that she followed Tojo Nozomi's account that pop out in the suggestion account.

Umi tapped the back button that brought her back to Minami Kotori's profile. She looked at her new follower's profile carefully. Minami Kotori had 3.964 tweets, 538 followers and following 289 people including Umi. The bluenette tapped her new follower's avatar.

Minami Kotori's profile picture looks like a candid photo taken by her friend. In that photo she was happily smiling at something. Minami Kotori has a grayish-brown hair with a really weird hairstyle, a beautiful amber eyes and a smile Umi had never saw before. Judging from her face, she probably was a high scholar just like Umi.

Without hesitation Umi tapped the follow button and immediately composed a new tweet.

' _minamikotori thank you for following me.'_

After sending her tweet, she then realized something. Just a second ago, she agreed with her friends that there's no need for her to say thank you to every people that followed her. But here she is, saying thank you for her new follower. There's just something different about Minami Kotori that made the bluenette wanted to know more about her new follower.

Umi locked her phone and put it beside her pillow. She kept looking at her phone. When usually she wanted her phone to stop buzzing, oddly this time she was waiting for her phone to buzz. After several minutes waiting, finally her phone let out a notification tone which immediately Umi took to her hand. She opened her notification and just like she thought, Minami Kotori replied her mention.

' _sonodaumi you're welcome~ nice to meet you, Sonoda Umi-san (^-^)'_

Reading Kotori's tweet over and over again, Umi smiled. When she accidentally looked at the time it was already decided that she would stopped after replying to Minami Kotori's tweet since she still have school tomorrow. She tapped the reply button and started to compose her tweet.

' _minamikotori nice to meet you too, Minami-san.'_

After sending her last tweet, Umi turned off her phone and put it back to her drawer. Before going to sleep, Umi stared at her ceiling. She put her hand on her chest and she could feel that her heartbeat starting to increase. For the first time, she made an acquaintance in Twitter. Now her eyes wide open and she couldn't sleep.

 _If I tell Nico, Maki and Eli about this I bet they'll laugh at me again tomorrow..._

* * *

Two weeks has passed since Minami Kotori followed Umi on Twitter. From their conversation on Twitter, she learned that Minami Kotori attended an all girl school in Tokyo and just like her, she was a second year. Her mother was the chairman of the school. She was really good in sewing and designing an outfit. She's the same height as Umi. She likes cheesecake, dislike garlic and she loves making sweets. Umi didn't know since when that it become a habit for her to check her Twitter before she go to sleep.

' _minamikotori so, you're a member of a choir club? That's kind of amazing.'_

' _sonodaumi actually I'm not a member I just often help them because my best friend is the president of that club.'_

' _minamikotori but I'd still like to hear you sing someday...'_

' _sonodaumi well then someday I'll sing for you (^-^)'_

' _minamikotori what if I asked you to do a cover for me right now?'_

' _sonodaumi eeeeh?! Right now?!'_

' _minamikotori I can't?'_

' _sonodaumi it's not that you can't, I'm just embarrassed...but if you're willing to wait for a second, I'll give you one.'_

' _minamikotori of course I'll gladly wait.'_

Smiling, Umi put her phone down, waiting for Kotori to finish. It was the first time she acted like this. Usually she would never chat with a stranger she hasn't meet before, but it was different with Kotori. By only two weeks, she already felt like she has known Kotori for a long time. Kotori succeed on making her feel comfortable. Not any person could do that. In fact, Umi only know three persons who can make her feel like that. Nico, Maki and Eli. Lost in her thought, she didn't realize that thirteen minutes have passed. The one thing that brought her back to reality was the buzz from her phone.

' _sonodaumi I'm done! Sorry for the long wait~'_

At the end of her tweet, Kotori inserted a link. Umi opened the link and being directed into a page where Kotori uploaded her cover. Umi clicked the play button. She never heard the song before but one thing she knew for sure is that, she's in love with Kotori's voice. Her voice is high pitched but is really soft at the same time. Umi closed her eyes to get a better feel. After she finished listening to the song, she realized her eyes were wet. She's crying.

' _minamikotori Minami-san, your voice is really beautiful...'_

' _sonodaumi thank you, Sonoda-san, that's very kind of you_ _'_

That night, Umi keep repeating Kotori's cover song until she fell asleep.

* * *

"Since when did you're into alpaca, Umi?" Nico looked at the alpaca plushie in front of her while frowning.

It's Sunday and Umi had called the three of them to accompany her for shopping. Since they wanted to go shopping themselves, they agreed with Umi's request.

"It's not for me. It's for a friend." Feeling satisfied by the alpaca plushie she chose earlier. She smiled widely.

"Is something good happened, Umi?" Eli was the first one to ask.

"You know, you've been grinning stupidly for awhile now and it's kinda creep me out." Nico added.

"Is that so?" Umi shifted her eyes from the alpaca to her friend.

"You seem to have taken a liking to your new friend on Twitter." Maki looked at her own phone, realized that Umi keep mentioning her new friend on Twitter. "Minami-san isn't it?" the red-head asked.

"It's not something like that. It's just that I found her very comfortable to chat with. Beside this alpaca is a compensation for the cover song she gave me before." Umi replied, voicing what she really felt.

Maki, Nico and Eli exchange glances. It was the first time they see Umi acting like this.

"Speaking of which, Eli you're know one of Minami-san's friend right? If I'm not mistaking, her name is Tojo Nozomi." Umi asked the blonde.

Taken by surprise, Eli who just finished her drink choked and started to cough. The other three looked at her direction in confusion.

"Are you okay?" Maki who sat beside her started to rub Eli's back.

"I'm okay." Eli let another cough and smiled awkwardly. "No-Nozomi is, she is a friend of mine." Eli tried to explain without causing any suspicion.

"Nozomi? A Friend? In Tokyo?" Nico raised her eyebrow, doubting Eli's explanation.

"Yes. We met in a forum three months ago." Eli trying to claimed back her composure.

"I see." unlike Nico, Umi accept Eli's explanation without any protest. Umi stopped for awhile before opened her mouth again. "Say, next week is Golden Week isn't it?"

"It is." Maki answered.

"Do you have any plans?" Umi asked her friends

"Not particularly. I guess I'll just gonna spend it with my family." Nico answered first.

"Me too. I think I'll just use the holiday to practice piano." Maki seconded.

"For me, maybe I'm going to finish some unfinished matter in the student council." Eli was the last one answered. "Is there something wrong?"

Umi looked at her friends. Her expression got serious all of sudden.

"If by any chance, can I have you guys accompanied me to Tokyo?"

* * *

 **A/N :** Hello, been a long time! Finally I decided to make another KotoUmi story. Thank you for reading and sorry for the mistakes. As for you who was wondering why Twitter? Let's say that it's because personal experience ;) about my other story, of course I will not abandon it. It's just that I haven't been able to finish it though I already know how the ending will be. I planned to finish us after my exam next week. That's all from me. Once again thank you for reading and see you next chapter~


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer :** I do not own Love Live!

* * *

"Kotori-chan, hey Kotori-chan!" A ginger haired-girl kept calling for her best friend who's lost in her own thought.

Realize that she was daydreaming she shook her head and finally paid attention to her friend. "I'm sorry Honoka-chan, what are you saying again?"

"Geez,Kotori-chan you're ignoring me again." the ginger-haired girl whom she called Honoka pouted.

"I-it's not like that...! I just lost in my own though." Feeling guilty, Kotori looked down.

"Kotori-chan, you've been spacing out a lot lately. Do you have a problem? You can share it with us if you want." Another girl with brown hair wearing glasses looked at her direction worriedly.

"That's right! You can count on us whatever it is about nya!" another girl with a short orange hair joined their conversation.

"Don't tell me..." Honoka closed both her eyes while got up from her seat. She suddenly grabbed Kotori's shoulder and look at her with eyes wide open. "You're being bullied?!"

"Th-that's not it...! I just..." Kotori averted her eyes from Honoka's.

"Who is it Kotori-chan?! Tell us!" to make the situation worse, the orange-haired girl followed Honoka and start bombing her with question.

"Ho-Honoka-chan, R-Rin-chan, I don't think that you guys should force Kotori-chan like that." The brown-haired girl tried to calm her best friends down.

"But Kayo-chin, don't you want to know too?" it was no used. Rin didn't listen to her, neither did Honoka.

"Honoka-chan, Rin-chan." Another girl started talking. "Hanayo-chan is right, you two need to calm down. Kotori-chan couldn't tell us what happened if you guys keep storming her like that." That girl who was sitting in front of them giggled.

"I'm sorry Nozomi-chan. I just got carried away ehehe..." Stroking the back of her head, Honoka finally calmed herself down and get back to her seat.

"So did Rin..." the same goes for Rin.

Kotori let out a relief sigh. She noted to herself that she needs to thank the purple-haired girl later. She looked at Nozomi while the latter just let out a smile, as if she was understood what was inside Kotori's mind.

"Well then Kotori-chan, will you tell us what was really happened?" Hanayo asked.

As for the answer, Kotori nodded.

"Because our lunch break is almost over, why don't we talk about this matter after school?" Nozomi suggested since she doesn't want Kotori to explain about her problem in a hurry.

"I guess you're right Nozomi-chan." Honoka agreed.

Right after they finished their conversation, the school bell rang. They split into their own classes and promised to meet again after school.

* * *

Minami Kotori is a normal high school student. She's a second year in an all girl school which managed by her mother as the chairwoman. All of her childhood friends went to the same school with her. Kousaka Honoka, the very first friend she had and the closest one to her has always been together with her since they were three years old. Although she was unruly sometimes, she really loved all her friends. Next one is Hoshizora Rin and Koizumi Hanayo. Kotori met them when she was third grade in elementary school. They were her underclassmen. Honoka and her accidently caught them getting picked up by a bigger child and help them. Since then, Rin and Hanayo always followed them around. The last one is Tojo Nozomi. She was a transfer student in their school when Kotori was in the fifth grade. Nozomi is one year older. As always it was because of Honoka that she got to know her. Honoka approached Nozomi who seemed to not have any friends, and without she realized it, the fifth of them always spend their lunch time together, until now.

Kotori was average in almost everything. But that doesn't mean she was unpopular. She was a member of the health committee. Many underclassmen adore her because of her kindness and her well shaped body. She didn't join any particular club, but she always helped Honoka's choir club every now and then. Just like any other teenager, she has a smartphone and some social media account. She's using Twitter because all of her friends used it too. Because of her kindness, she's not too picky about the people she followed. If that person looks like a decent person, she'll easily follow them.

About two weeks ago, an account she doesn't recognize pop out from her 'who to follow' suggestion. She doesn't know why, but her interest perks up. 'Sonoda Umi' is what written on her phone screen. Judging by the number of the tweet she composed she know that her account was still new. When she scrolled Sonoda Umi's profile down, suddenly she realized something and giggled to herself. All 124 tweets Umi made were the same. It's written _'Thank you for following me.'_ with no mention at all. Kotori was amused by Sonoda Umi's cute mistake. _'It seems that she wasn't used to Twitter yet'_ she thought. Sonoda Umi only followed four accounts but already had 124 followers.

 _Wow it seems like she's really popular..._ Kotori noted to herself.

She tapped Sonoda Umi's avatar. It looks like Sonoda Umi is a high school student and she joined archery club. She has a beautiful long blue hair. Judging from the photo, Kotori assumed that Sonoda Umi's height was about the same as her. Kotori couldn't see her face because the photo was taken from her back. When she looked back at Umi's profile, she realized that Umi is online right now because she kept making a new tweet. Without any further consideration, she tapped the follow button. Kotori put her phone on the table next to her bed and prepared herself to sleep.

 _It's not like I'm gonna get to know her right?_

Just when she was about to close her eyes, her phone buzzed. She intended to ignore it but then her phone buzzed once more. She reached for her phone and opened it. It was some notifications from Twitter. One that told her that she got a new followers and the other one was a mention from someone she least expected

' _minamikotori thank you for following me.'_

Kotori surprised. She didn't think that Sonoda Umi would thank her for following her account. She looked at the time on her phone screen.

 _It's already this late...should I reply her mention or not?_ She hesitated for a moment. Finally she made a decision. She tapped the reply button and start typing on her phone screen.

' _sonodaumi you're welcome~ nice to meet you, Sonoda Umi-san (^-^)'_

Kotori didn't know why but her heartbeat is rising after she send her reply to Umi. She waited for awhile before she put down her phone back. Though she didn't really expect Umi to reply her tweet, she still waiting because she knew that there's still a little possibility for it. And her hunch was right. Not too long after her reply, Sonoda Umi mentioned her again.

' _minamikotori nice to meet you too, Minami-san.'_

Even though all Umi did was thank her and greet her, it's enough to make Kotori smile. She decided that she wouldn't reply Umi's tweet because it was already late and it will be rude for her to do so. She locked her phone and put it back on the table. She kept smiling for awhile and her heart still beating irregularly.

 _It's been a long time since I had so much fun because of Twitter._

Kotori giggled to herself. That night she slept with a smile on her face.

Two weeks passed by since that day, and unexpectedly she was getting along so well with Sonoda Umi. There's not even one day she spent without mentioned her. From their interaction, she learnt so many things about Umi. She was a second year high scholar in an all girl school in Nagoya, and just like Kotori thought she joined the archery club. She has no sister, and is expected to inherit her father dojo one day. She came from a traditional Japanese family, so Kotori conclude that's where Umi's politeness came from. Kotori herself started to share about herself bit by bit. She found Umi as a comfortable person to chat with.

Kotori told Umi that she sometimes help Honoka in the choir club. Suddenly that night, Umi asked Kotori if she could sing her a cover song. She hesitated. It's not like she doesn't want to, it's just that she doesn't have any confidence in her voice. She's afraid that Umi will laugh at her.

' _sonodaumi eeeeh?! Rigth now?!'_

' _minamikotori I can't?'_

Reading Umi's reply, she could imagine her disappointed face. She didn't want to make Umi feeling sad, but still to sing for someone she never met before was a little too much for her. She thought about it once again. And finally she came to a decision. She knew that Umi wasn't the type of person who'll laugh at her. So she mustered up her courage and replied Umi's tweet.

' _sonodaumi it's not that you can't, I'm just embarrassed...but if you're willing to wait for a second, I'll give you one.'_

She waited for awhile to see Umi's reaction.

' _minamikotori of course I'll gladly wait.'_

Seeing Umi's positive reaction, she started picking a song from her playlist. Since it was her first time singing alone for someone else, she had to pick the song carefully. After decided on what song she would cover, she started recording her voice. She sang with all of her heart. Although she didn't sure that Umi would know about the song she cover, she still believe that it was the right song to pick. It's a song she always listened to whenever she was happy. It was a calm and soothing song.

After she finished, she uploaded it on her Soundcloud account and copied the link.

' _sonodaumi I'm done! Sorry for the long wait~'_

Kotori inserted the link to her cover and then waited anxiously for Umi's opinion of her voice. Her heart started to beat faster and her cheeks feel hot. She never felt this embarrassed before. She just did something she never thought before. It's really weird how Umi could easily make her do something so embarrassing like that. If it was other person who asked her to sing, she wouldn't be so sure that she will do it. When her phone buzzed, she immediately took it and opened her Twitter.

' _minamikotori Minami-san, your voice is really beautiful...'_

Kotori read Umi's tweet again and again. Just as she thought, Umi would never laugh at her voice. A sudden bliss filled her heart.

' _sonodaumi thank you, Sonoda-san, that's very kind of you.'_

She touched her heated cheeks and threw herself to her bed. She smiled to herself. She put her hand on her chest and closed her eyes. She felt a strange sensation inside her heart.

 _I think I can't get used with this feelings, but it's not that bad._

* * *

"So, it was all about your new followers on Twitter? Who was her name again? Sonoda Ucchi?" Honoka said while drinking her milkshake.

"It's Sonoda Umi. Honoka-chan, you really have a terrible memory nya." Rin corrected her friend while shaking her head.

"I-I don't want to hear that from Rin-chan!." Honoka tried to defend herself.

As Kotori promised before, she will tell her friends about her problem. After the school ended, they decided to go to their favorite restaurant near the school.

"So what's wrong about her? Did she bully you on Twitter or something?" across her seat, Hanayo asked.

"Is that so?! Don't worry Kotori-chan, Rin will teach her a lesson or two nya!" getting affected easily, Rin took her own phone and started looking for Umi's Twitter profile.

"N-no, it's not something like that! She was really kind and polite." Remembering how Umi was, Kotori smiled to herself.

Looking at Kotori's expression, Rin calmed down and put her phone back to her pocket. She frowned. "If she's that kind, so what's the thing that bothering you, Kotori-chan?" she asked the older girl, didn't really understand why she's getting bothered.

"You see..." Kotori hesitated. "She said that she will come here this Sunday."

"From Nagoya?" Honoka asked and Kotori nodded in return.

"Does she have any business here?" this time it was Hanayo who asked.

"Not particularly. She said that she wanted to meet me in person." Kotori's cheeks blush a little.

"Isn't that good, Kotori-chan?" Nozomi finally speak. "It's a chance to know her better." She smiled playfully.

"That's right Kotori-chan! And you can introduce her to us too!" Honoka clapped both her hands in excitement.

"Any friend of Kotori-chan is a friend of mine too nya~" Rin followed.

"So, what's the thing that bothered you?" still curious, Hanayo asked.

"It's just that, I don't know how to act if I meet her in person. All this time I've never seen her face, nor did hearing her voice." Kotori paused for awhile. "And most of all, I'm afraid that she will hate me." feeling down, she lowered her voice.

Honoka took both Kotori's hand. "Kotori-chan, there's no way she's gonna hate you! And why would she hate you anyway?!" she said in a loud voice, making other customer looked at their way.

"Honoka-chan..." Kotori looked at her determined friend.

"That's right Kotori-chan! You're a nice girl, there's no way anyone could ever hate you nya!" Rin seconded Honoka's opinion.

"They're right Kotori-chan, you need to put more confident in yourself." Hanayo smiled at her gently.

Kotori looked at her friends, and then she smiled herself. "Thank you so much guys. Though hearing about self confident from Hanayo-chan feels a little weird." Kotori giggled.

"Eeeeh?!" The said girl let out a disagreement sound.

Looking at her friend interaction, Nozomi smiled to herself. "Say Kotori-chan, do you want us to accompany you when you meet Sonoda-san?" Nozomi offered. Everyone looked at her direction in unison.

"That's a good idea, Nozomi-chan!" Honoka agreed.

"Eh?! But this Sunday is Golden Week. Don't you guys have another plan already?" Feeling unsure Kotori asked. She didn't want to disturb her best friend holiday by her selfishness.

"It's okay nyaa! Beside, Rin doesn't have any plan~" Rin reassured the grayish-ash haired girl.

"Me too." Hanayo nodded, following Rin's statement.

"Then how about Nozomi-chan? Wouldn't your parents be home this weekend?" Kotori looked at the purple haired girl.

"Spending one day for my friend who's in trouble, wouldn't hurt right?" Nozomi smiled.

"Everyone...Thank you!" feeling touched, Kotori smiled herself.

"It's decided then, we'll help Kotori-chan this Sunday!" Honoka throw her fist into the air, followed by the rest of the group.

After finished eating, the group went home. Honoka, Rin and Hanayo were walking in front of her while Nozomi was walking beside her. Kotori suddenly remembered something.

"Speaking of which Nozomi-chan, you know one of Sonoda-san friend right? Ayase-san?" Kotori asked the older girl.

"Ah, you mean Elicchi? Yes, I know her from a forum three months ago~" Nozomi smiled mischievously while humming happily.

 _Elicchi?_ Although she was confused by the way Nozomi called Ayase Eli, she decided not to ask about it further.

* * *

Sunday comes in a flash. Kotori and her friends were now waiting in the station. Umi said that she was going to depart at seven in the morning, and the trip will takes about three hours. It's already ten past thirty but Kotori still didn't get any words from Umi.

"Kotori-chan, she's really going to come right?" Honoka let out a sigh. They've already waited for about thirty minutes.

"Yes Honoka-chan. One hour ago, she said that she was already in train." Kotori answered, getting anxious herself.

"Rin is thirsty. I'm going to buy something to drink first nya." Rin walked to the nearest vending machine. From there, she still could see her friends location. After she arrived, she started picking what she wanted to drink and of course she didn't forget to buy some for her friends too.

"Lemon for Honoka-chan and apple for Kayo-chin~" When she bend down to grab the drink, she could feel that some people approached her from behind.

"Excuse me." an unfamiliar voice talked to her.

When Rin turned around to see who it was, she was surprised to find four people wearing a thick brown jacket, a mask and a black sunglasses standing behind her. She observed them quickly. One has a blonde hair, one was blue, the other one was red and the smallest one was a raven-haired girl with a twin tail. They looked really suspicious, like a bad guy from a drama series she once watched on TV. Without hesitation, Rin called her friends for help.

"Kayo-chin, Honoka-chan, Nozomi-chan, Kotori-chan, help me!"

Because of Rin sudden outburst, the four people in front of her getting surprised themselves. They didn't want to make a scene.

"See Nico-chan, it was such a stupid idea!" The red-haired girl opened the mask and yelled at the smallest girl.

"Hey, it's not stupid! It's Tokyo we're talking about!" the smaller girl replied with a high tone herself.

"Stop now you two! Don't make any fuss or people will consider us suspicious." The blonde spoke.

"We already look suspicious!" the read-haired girl put off her sunglasses and looked at Rin direction. "I'm sorry. We didn't mean to scare you." She apologizes to the now frightened Rin.

"Wait, did she just say 'Kotori?'" the blue-haired girl realized something.

"Rin-chan! Are you alright?"

Another four people approached them.

"Who are you guys and what did you do to Rin-chan?" Honoka, stepped in front of Rin, while Hanayo hugged her friend to calm her.

"I-It's a misunderstanding, we didn't mean any harm. We just wanted to ask for direction" The blonde explained and took of her sunglasses.

Looking at the blonde in front of her, Nozomi's eyes widened. As if she found something she lost.

"Eli...cchi?" Nozomi tried to call for the blonde.

Being called, Eli turned her head. Looking at the purple-haired girl in front of her, her eyes widened in surprised. "No-Nozomi?!"

After a long silence, everyone except Nozomi and Eli shouted in unison, surprised by the sudden development.

"Eeeeeeeeh?!"

"Then, you are..." Kotori shifted her eyes to the blue-haired girl direction. She opened both of her mask and sunglasses and finally revealed her face.

The amber eyes met the brown one and then they opened their mouth at the same time.

"Sonoda Umi-san?!"

"Minami Kotori-san?!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Love Live!

* * *

Umi couldn't remember what she dreamed last night. In fact, she didn't recall whether she was taking some sleep or not. Her head felt a little hurt and her eyes felt really heavy. She swore that she could see bags under her eyes when she looked at herself in the mirror. It's not that she never went to Tokyo before. She had come there several times to participate in an archery competition. In addition, she's not alone. There's Eli and Maki coming with her. And Nico, of course. There should be nothing to worry at all. However, this and that was a completely different matter. If she's going there to enter an archery competition, of course, she doesn't need to unload her closet and struggle to decide what clothes she will wear.

She never had this kind of difficulty when she's going to meet with someone before. Today was different. She believes that Minami Kotori wasn't the type of person who judges others by their appearance and Umi's sense of fashion isn't bad at all. Nevertheless, today she wanted to look more... decent. She didn't want to leave a bad impression in front of Minami Kotori. However, reality didn't meet her expectation. Actually, the situation was even worse. Thanks to Nico's stupid idea.

 _A few hours ago..._

" _Here, wear it all." Nico handed them a thick jacket, a mask, and a sunglass._

" _What is... this...?" Maki lifted the jacket high, flip it back and front several times. She didn't blink, just frowning._

" _It's my personal collection of course." Nico tossed her hair and smiled fully with pride._

 _The crimson-haired girl lowered her arm that was holding the jacket and snorted." This is stupid."_

" _Hey, I hear that you know." Hissing, Nico glances at the younger girl fiercely._

" _Why do we have to wear this?" Eli immediately distracts Nico's attention, before they start arguing over something silly._

" _Because it's Tokyo we're going to!"_

 _Umi's brow puckered. "I don't see how that related to us wearing this."_

" _Tch, tch, tch..." Nico moved her index finger and clucked her tongue. "You're naïve Umi." She moved her hand to put the sunglass on her face. "In Tokyo, anything could happen. What if suddenly, you're getting recruited by a modeling agency or something like that? Especially if they see Nico Nii's cute smile. They'll definitely want me to join and that'll be a big problem for me, Nico." she pursued her lips, pretending to looks troubled._

" _I'm against it. It's ridiculous." The crimson haired girl sighed, twirling the edge of her hair with her index finger looking uninterested._

" _That may be true..." both Umi and Eli nodded in agreement didn't pay attention to Nico at all._

" _Geez, don't ignore me!" Nico slammed her foot "This is for protection against molesters! Just wear it already." Nico groaned in frustration, tired of being ignored._

Thus, that was the reason behind their disguise. Now, here they were, in a café near the station.

 _I can't blame her entirely, because I, too, agree with it. I supposed it was careless of me..._

Umi certain that Kotori's first impression of her has ruined. Not to mention that she managed to make one of Kotori's friends cried in fear. She let a small sigh escape from her mouth, which is meant for her only. However, turns out, her sigh wasn't as small as she thought.

"Sonoda-san? Are you not feeling well? Or perhaps feeling tired because of the trip?" Kotori's little face slackened, her brow furrowed and eyes looking at Umi, concerned.

"I-I'm alright." Umi blurted immediately while moving her hand to the right and left, gaining a small chuckle from the other girl as a response.

Kotori's voice is so soft and cute at the same time. Even softer than the voice she once heard before in a recording. Just like a little bird chirping in the morning. Somehow, that made her heart beats faster. Just like when she finished running ten laps in PE. The sensation is similar, but not quite the same. Unconsciously, she's fidgeting in her chair. Her palms started to get wet from sweat; she stared at the ground, shifting from one foot to the other one. She couldn't face her interlocutor and that makes it difficult for Kotori to start a conversation. The air between them became awkward.

"What the heck is she doing!?" Nico peeked at Umi and Kotori from another table not too far. Her hands gripped at the seat cushion tightly. Feeling a little annoyed by Umi's unclear behavior.

They purposely left the two of them alone, since it's their 'meeting event' after all.

"Nico, you know how Umi acts around people she's just met." Eli tapped Nico's small shoulder to calm her down and gesture her to turn back and not peeking.

"Speaking of which, I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. We didn't mean to scare you at all. Hoshizora-san, isn't it?" Eli shifted her eyes to the orange-haired girl in front of her and sends her an apologetic smile.

"It's alright, nya. Rin's at fault as well for suddenly freaked out like that. By the way, just Rin is fine~" the cat-like girl grinned widely with her cheeks somehow flustered. Maybe feeling a little bit embarrassed by her sudden outburst earlier.

"No, you're not at fault at all. Everyone would freak out if they approached by some strangers in stupid disguise." Maki glanced at Nico when she said the word 'stupid'. Thankfully, Nico didn't notice her or it would be another trivial war ruptured between them.

"But seriously, why are you guys dressed like that? Its stand out too much." with eyebrows raised, Honoka asked them. It could be seen clearly that she wants some explanation about it.

Maki and Eli, however, didn't know how to answer. They didn't have any good excuses for it. Maki and Eli just exchanged glances at each other until they finally looked at Nico's direction, hoping that she would help them. Realized that she's been staring at, Nico raised her shoulder, pretending not to know anything.

"Well... err... let's just call it a protection." Eli laughed half-hearted, secretly wished that Honoka satisfied with her answer, and won't ask about it any further, which surprisingly, she did.

"So, Ayase-san and Nozomi-chan already knows each other?" trying her best not to sound nervous, Hanayo changed the subject and looked at Eli's direction.

"No need to be that polite. You can just call me Eli." Realized that Hanayo was tense, a warm smile lifted at the corners of Eli's mouth. Eli shifted her eyes to where Nozomi is. The other party already looked at her with a mischievous smile. Her shining turquoise piercing at Eli's blue orbs, making the blonde acts awkwardly.

"Y-yes, we met th-three months ago." Eli cleared her throat and regains her composure with great effort.

Looking at awkward Eli, Nozomi could only chuckle. She's too easy to tease.

"Elicchi is actually a funny girl. The first time we talked to each other, just because my avatar was a stack of tarot cards, she thought that I was some forecasters who wanted to offer my service to her. On top of that, she scolds me really hard, telling that I shouldn't deceive people with my cheap fortune telling. It really broke my heart you know." Nozomi looked down while covering her face with her hands and make some small sobs, pretending to look down. She opened a little space between her fingers to look at Eli's reaction.

"Eli... I know that you're really cold sometimes, but to think that you're that mean..." Nico realized that Nozomi was just joking and decided to back her up. She looked at the said girl, flabbergasted. Followed by everyone.

"I-I've already apologized before!" feeling cornered, Eli tried to defend herself. However, it seems like her statement wasn't enough to make her name clear, seeing all the eyes still glued to her. "I'm sorry, Nozomi, it was my mistake. I'm sorry, okay?" feeling guilty, Eli tried to calm Nozomi down, but it's seems that she's the one who need to calm down herself.

Looking at Eli's response to her bait, Nozomi tried to keep a smile, but her facial muscles weren't strong enough, and she burst out laughing. So did Nico.

Realized that they're just playing around with her, Eli puffed her cheeks and pouted. "No-Nozomi! You too, Nico!" Eli stuttered. Her face turned beet red. However, the purple-haired girl and the raven-haired girl didn't stop at all. They keep laughing to their heart's content. Though she did want to hear Nozomi's soft laughter more, she feels really embarrassed right now that she wants to dig herself a hole to hide.

Soon enough, Rin followed the two of them and burst out laughing, making the rest of the girls who didn't understand the situation that well, looked at her with confusion in their face.

"Rin-chan, why are you laughing? Could it be that you know that Nozomi-chan and Yazawa-san was just teasing from the beginning?" Hanayo shifted her eyes to look at her best friend beside her. Her eyes widened, somehow feeling impressed that Rin, out all of the girls, could understand Nozomi and Nico's intention that even she herself didn't catch it.

"It's not that, Rin's just play along with the flow nyaaa~" she answered innocently, making all the girls laughing, include Eli. After satisfied with the laugh, they calmed down.

"Man that was a good laugh." Nico wiped the tears that began to form in the corner of her eyes. She took the milkshake in front of her and sips it, feeling that her throat getting dry because of all the laughter earlier.

"Indeed. Nice back up, Nicocchi." Nozomi looked at the smaller girl and winked at her.

Being called like that, making Nico choked on her drink. She coughs, but still trying to talk between it. "Ni-Nicocchi?!"

"Its fine, isn't it? We are all already friends, we should call each other by our given names~" Nozomi hummed playfully, didn't want to take any protest at all.

"I agree!" half-shouting, Honoka raised her hand up and smiled cheerfully.

"Me too... I guess?" Hanayo murmured in her seat, still feeling a little embarrassed around her new friends.

"Just do whatever suits you." Seems uninterested, Maki twirled the edge of her scarlet hairs with her index finger. Nevertheless, the truth is, she wasn't uninterested, she's just feeling embarrassed, and twirling her hair was one of the few habits she had to hide her embarrassment.

"Come on, don't be like that Maki-chan~" Rin, who was sitting next to Maki, closed their gap, put her hands on Maki's shoulders and rubbed her own cheek with Maki's, making the other girl face flushed as red as her hair by the sudden contact.

"Bu-buueeeh...!?"Maki stuttered. She opened her mouth but never finished saying even a word. She tried to push Rin away with her free hands. "Ge-get, get off!"

"Maki-chan you're so distant nyaa." Rin didn't budge. She keeps rubbing her cheek with Maki's until finally the other girl sigh in defeat.

Seeing the interaction of the two, the other girls could only chuckle.

"It's really lively back there, isn't it?" Kotori looked at the other table direction where all of her friends are. She's glad that her friends were getting along with Umi's friends.

"Yes, it is."

Kotori looked back at Umi and found out that she's looking at the same direction too, with a small smile on her face. Kotori brought her hand to her mouth and chuckled. _She's cute_ was what Kotori thought to herself.

Realized that Kotori was staring at her, Umi's tense behavior comes back to her. She forced herself to act normally around Kotori. She did everything she could to calm herself down from her nervousness. She even counts backwards from fifteen, but it was no use. She's aware that she has made Kotori feel uncomfortable with her own behavior. But she couldn't help it. Kotori's presence affects her so much. In a good way actually. She moved her feet to the side to help her calmed a bit, only to find it grazed a plastic bag that was placed near her feet. She looked down to see whatever the plastic bag contains. Inside of it, wrapped a not too big present neatly. Umi then realized what it was.

"Um... Minami-san, you see..." Umi opened her mouth slowly. It's still hard for her to talk to the girl in front of her that keeps looking in her direction.

"Kotori is fine. So... can I call you Umi-chan too?" Kotori let out a smile, brighter than every smile Umi had ever seen before.

"Wha-what...! U-U-Umi-chan!?" The blush on Umi's face worsened. To the extent that she looks like someone who has a fever.

"I can't?" Kotori's voice dropping.

"N-no! Of course, you can. By all means, please call me Umi." Umi didn't know what got into her. At the thought of making Kotori sad, all Umi's nervousness vanished. Replaced by a stern, yet warm reply. And of course, that makes Kotori's smile wider. She looked on smiling Kotori and a warm feeling filled her chest. She smiled herself.

"Umi-chan, what were you trying to say?"

"Ah, that's right." Umi remembered what she was going to do earlier. She took the present from the plastic bag and places it on the table. It's really not that big, but big enough to cover Umi's face from Kotori's view. "I want to thank you properly, for letting me hear your voice." Umi pushed the present forward to Kotori's direction.

"Umi-chan... you really don't need to do this, you know?" Kotori looked at the present in front of her with mixed feelings. She did feel happy to receive a present. Who wouldn't? But at the same time, she felt that she hasn't done anything special to deserve this present. After all, half of the cover song thing was her own will.

"No, it's alright, really. I wanted to give you this."

Kotori took the present with her hands. She looked at Umi who was now smiling at her gently; no more nervousness could be seen in her face. Now that Kotori had taken a closer look at Umi, she realized how beautiful the other girl was. Her navy blue hair was shining, exposed by the sunlight, which seeping in through the window. Her skin was also glowing beautifully. Her eyes, framed by long lashes, were a bright, hazel-brown and seemed to brighten Kotori's world. Her cheekbones were high, delicate chin, a straight nose, and completed by full lips. Umi seemed like the picture of perfection in Kotori's eyes. Realized what she's been thinking, Kotori blushed madly. She looked down and hides her face behind the present.

"Tha-thank you..." she muttered slowly. Kotori's cheeks feel so hot. She had never experienced anything like this before. Get flustered by a single girl's smile, it's silly and... amusing at the same time. Kotori shook her head a little, to help her regain her calm.

"Can I open it?" with a voice back to normal, Kotori looked at the bluenette to get the permission.

"Sure." Umi nodded at her, with a warm smile showed on her face.

Kotori opened the present slowly, she didn't want to tear the wrap. When the wrap fully opened, Kotori's eyes widened and glowing with excitement. She took the thing in the present with her hands. It was a white alpaca plushie. She remembers that she once told Umi about her love for alpaca. She never though that Umi would give her an alpaca plushie though. Kotori couldn't hide her excitement any longer. She hugs the plushie and moved her body left to right joyfully.

"Thank you, Umi-chan! I really like the present!" with her happy tone and broad smile, it can be seen clearly that she did like the present.

Umi could only smile herself, relieved that the present she chose was actually able to make Kotori happy.

"Ah! I remember something!" Kotori's eyes suddenly opened wide.

"What it is?" Umi looked at Kotori, half confused and worried.

"I haven't introduced myself properly." Kotori offered her hand for a shake. "I'm Minami Kotori, nice to meet you Umi-chan~" she smiled with the most dazzling ones among the other smiles she had shown.

This makes Umi cheeks blushed immediately. She has seen many beautiful things in this world, but, when she looked at Kotori's smile, nothing compared to it.

"I'm Sonoda Umi. Nice to meet you too, Kotori." Umi moved her hand slowly and finally took Kotori's hand in hers.

Kotori's hand was slightly―if not completely different from Umi's. Because of her training, be it archery in school and kendo at home, her hand was marked with callouses. Her skin was hard and rough and her fingers were cold because of the tension she felt earlier. Compared to her, Kotori's hand was soft, smooth, gentle and... warm. It was a sensation Umi would never forget. She noted to herself that she needs to thank Nico later because she had made a Twitter account for her that led to a meeting with a goddess named Minami Kotori.

* * *

"We still have three hours before our train to come. What should we do?" Eli looked at the watch attached to her wrist. It's one o'clock right now. After finishing their chit-chat and lunch in the café, they now gathered at a park not too far from the café, discussing their next plan.

"How about seeing a movie?" Honoka suggested.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, there's nothing good right now. " Maki brushed the idea.

"Buuuu, Maki-chan you're no fun." Honoka pouted in protest.

"Rin know! Let's go to amusement park nya!" Rin pumped her fist into the air, feeling that her idea was brilliant. But sadly, no one followed her movement. They're just staring at her with flat face.

"You really are a dolt." Nico sighed and shook her head. "Do you forget that we still have a three ours trip home? If we go to an amusement park, we'll be too tired by then!"

"I-it's not like Nico-chan has a better idea than Rin!" the cat-like girl tried to defend herself.

"I do!" feeling challenged, Nico strikes back. "Let's just go to karaoke. Singing won't consume too much energy." She smiled in victory.

"I guess Nico-chan is right." Hanayo nodded in agreement.

Maki shifted closer to Eli and whispered in her ear. "Nico-chan's brain could work just fine sometimes."

"Hey! I could still hear you, you know!" Nico glared at her red-haired junior whose now pretended innocence.

"Now, now, I know a place not too far from the station. Should we go there?" Nozomi could read the atmosphere and step in between the two before they start arguing. Eli was feeling grateful to Nozomi. For the first time, she didn't have to stop Nico and Maki from their silly argument.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Eli gestured everyone to move.

―

"Rin-chan, let's sing this together!" Honoka took the microphone and moved forward, dragging Rin along with her.

"Alright nyaa, Rin loves this song as well~" Rin followed Honoka and grabbed another microphone while the others just sit and looking at them while smiling.

" _This sort of thing is good, I_ _wish I could do it  
That sort of dream, this sort of dream, I have many of them but,"_

"They're both really childish. How could they sing Doraemon's theme song in this age?" Nico complained, but the other just giggled at the two.

" _A_ _ll of them, all of them, all of them_ _, h_ _e grants my dreams  
_ _H_ _e grants my dreams with a mysterious pocket_ _._ _I want to fly freely in the sky_ _"_

" _Here! Bamboo-copter!"_ Nico suddenly jumped forward and joined the two singing.

" _Ah ah ah, I love you very much, Doraemon!"_

And with that, the entire room laughing together.

"Nico-chan, you said that we're childish, but you also sing along midway!" After finishing their song, Honoka pointed accusingly to Nico.

"We-well, just like Rin, I just play along with the flow Nico." Nico moved her hands up and doing her usual Nico-nii signature, but Rin and Honoka just looking at her with a blank expression.

"Anyway! It's Nozomi's turn next, let's listen to it!" Nico quickly changed the topic.

"Elicchi, wanna sing together? You know this song right? I gave it to you weeks ago." Nozomi offered Eli the microphone.

"Alright." Eli took the microphone from Nozomi's hand. "But I haven't memorized the tone completely."

"It's alright, I'll cover it for you~" Nozomi answered, and taking Eli to the front of the room.

" _In a flower garden overflowed by light_ _  
There grows a new flower bud_ _  
It embraces something that is faint colored_ _  
While waiting impatiently to be awaken someday_

 _Just like wrapping up the bud_ _  
The morning dew caressed gently_

 _The depth of this heart is trembling_ _  
(Now)_ _  
The newly born emotion starts to change its color_ _  
(Right, be noticed, be born, be longed for)_ _  
Oh dream, please show your full bloom_ _  
(I wonder)_ _  
By realizing thought and embracing wish_ _  
(Believing someday it will come true, I keep embracing it)_ _  
Then gently untie and color up_ _  
(Ah Ah Ah Ah)_ _  
The flowers with the red color of love_ _"_

Everyone in the room applauded when they finished singing.

"Now, whose turn is next?" Nico scanned the whole room to search for the next one who want to sing. And it seems that this time it was Hanayo.

"Ma-Maki-chan, would you like to accompany me singing? I'm too embarrassed to sing by myself." Hanayo ventured to invite Maki to join her.

Maki, who had been playing with her phone almost the whole time, finally put it back in her pocket. "It's fine, I guess."

"What song do you want to sing?" smiling widely, Hanayo asked the red-haired girl, afraid that Maki didn't agree with her choice of song.

"Anything is fine. As long as it's not rap." Maki replied. She knows many of songs after all.

" _What are here are the answer, to the path you've chosen_

 _Even now it's ok to have the confidence to go on_

 _It's very natural, like a rainbow stretching across the asphalt after the rain._

 _(Lonely) because the wind blew_

 _(Feeling) I realized_

 _That even though the answer is nowhere_

 _(Call me) we can understand each other_

 _(With you) Love is always something that's reciprocated_

 _(For you) because surely someday, you are meant to fly in that sky_

 _No matter how many times you stumble_

 _(For you) What's important is one thing, to keep on dreaming_

 _Please, don't close your heart."_

Again, after they finished singing all the occupant of the room clapped their hands. Maki smiled in satisfied. It's been so long since the last time she was singing with someone else. _It's a nice change of pace_ she thought to herself. Now, after everyone finished their singing, it was Kotori and Umi's turn. And just like everyone, they planned to do a duet too.

"Umi-chan, you know this song right?" Kotori shifted closer to Umi to let the other looked at her choice of song. It makes the latter blushed by Kotori's sudden movement. Thankfully, the light in the room was dim, so that no one noticed her reddened face.

"A-ah yes. I heard it before when I was in junior high school." Umi answered as normal as she could.

"Do you think you can sing it?" Kotori looked at Umi, hopefully.

"I believe I still memorize the tone, so it's not a problem." Umi answered with a smile, making the other girl smiling too. Umi really couldn't get bored with Kotori's smiled. Whenever she saw it, she feels that a sudden power rising inside her. In a normal situation, she would never want to sing in front of someone she just met, but today wasn't the case. She cleared her throat and get up from her seat. "Then, shall we?"

" _Hey, who do you want to see right now?  
Hey, who do you love right now?  
I'm always here wishing that it were me_

 _Hey, I can't see my heart  
And that instantly becomes a worry for me but  
We can't move on to tomorrow, by just the things we believe in_

 _The stars that rise to the night sky, do so as they keep someone in mind  
How many people in this town are looking up at them? I wonder_

 _Even if I've seen all the beautiful things in the world gathered before my eyes  
Nothing compares to you who's smiling for me right now_

 _Hey, without hesitating anymore  
I can believe of a future where I'm with you  
More than any words, because you're merely by my side_

 _If I was once more reborn to come seek love  
I'll bring to you, a flower with a graceful color_

 _Even if I've seen all the beautiful things in the world gathered before my eyes  
It doesn't compare to here where you're holding my hand  
Just by you smiling right now I can go on living  
It doesn't compare to here where you're holding my hand_

 _The place where I found love_ _"_

* * *

It's already time for Umi, Nico, Maki and Eli to go home. Of course, Kotori and her friends walk them to the station. They only met for about five hours, but somehow it feels like a very long time. It feels like they've been friends for years. It surprised Umi that she actually could feel that comfortable with a new person in a short time. Maybe because it was Kotori. And she knew that Kotori's friend would never treat her badly. She's glad that she came to the Tokyo. She glad that she brought her friends along. Most of all, she glad that she made a Twitter account.

The last few minutes before the train arrives, Umi did something she never thought she was capable of. She was left alone with Kotori. Not too far from them, the other girls were chatting and joking lively.

"Um, Ko-Kotori! I-if I allowed, may I have your ph-phone number?" Umi's asking without even looking at the girl in front of her. All she did was staring at her shoes and playing with the hem of her skirt. She waited for Kotori's response, but all her ears could catch was a soft laugh coming from Kotori's lips. A laugh she has grown to like.

"Of course! Let's exchange numbers!"

And now, here she was, sitting on the train on the way home. In front of her, sat Nico and Maki, sleeping with Nico's head leaning on Maki's shoulder. Beside her, Eli was sleeping soundly too. They must be tired because of the trip. Umi reminded herself that she needs to thank them and buying them a juice. She would have never made it this far if it weren't because of them. Just when she was about to sleep herself, she felt her phone buzzing. She took it from her pocket. It was a message from Kotori.

' _I really have a lot of fun today!_

 _Thank you for coming here to meet me,_

 _and thank you for the alpaca plushie, I really like it :D_

 _Next time, maybe I'll come to Nagoya hehe~_

 _See you really soon, Umi-chan!"_

Looking at the text message from Kotori, Umi smiled to herself.

 _Yes, see you soon... Kotori_

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you so much for reading! I'm sorry for any mistakes, and I hope you enjoyed it! The song I inserted in this chapter were all a good song, you guys should listen to it if you have a free time. The song that Nozomi and Eli sang is a song by Shimotsuki Haruka called FLOWERS. It's the opening song for Visual Novel with the same title. I suggest you guys played it too :3 Maki and Hanayo's song is Azu – For You. It's Naruto Shippuden ending theme, but I forgot which one haha and the last one, the song that Kotori and Umi sang is the same song that Kumiko and Reina played in episode 8, Ai wo Mitsuketa Basho by Hanako Oku. About the san-baka song? Nah I've got nothing to say.

That's all for this chapter, see you in the next update~


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Hello, it's me~ It's been a long time since I updated this story and I'm really sorry for that. As per usual, I'm sorry for my bad English and grammar, I'm sure you'll find a lot of mistakes and again, sorry for that. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the story and see you in the next update!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Love Live!

* * *

"Eh, Kotori-chan wants to go to Nagoya this summer break?"

Before they went home, Kotori and her friends would stop somewhere else to spend the time chatting about each other's day. Of course, today was no exception. Not to mention that today was the last day of school before summer break start, the more reason to spend their time together. Since its Rin's turn to decide their destination, it's easy to guess that they were in a ramen stall right now.

"That's what I plan to. You see, Umi-chan have an archery competition this summer. She invited me to come." Kotori answered happily to Honoka's question.

"Summer break, huh? Rin's probably unable to take a part nya." Although she looked busy blowing her ramen, Rin was actually listening to their conversation.

As weird as it may sound, Rin was the first to declare her absence of the upcoming event. Anything in their group activity, Rin was always the first one to agree. Moreover, it brought many questions in her friends' mind.

"Is Rin-chan has a vacation plan with family?" Kotori turned her gaze to her junior in front.

After slurping her ramen in one-go, Rin started talking again.

"That's not really the case nya. Rin has a supplementary class this summer. Rin's kinda messed up the English exam." She scratched the back of her head and smiled innocently.

"Aaaaaah!" As if being hit by reality, Honoka slammed the table with both hands. "I have supplementary classes too." She immediately slumped back to her seat, face against the table.

"Classes... Just how many subjects you failed, Honoka-chan?" Finished with her bowl already, Hanayo played with the straw of her milkshake.

Honoka raised her hand and started counting with her finger. "You know there's the unforgiving Math, right? Not to mention the foreign language English, and don't forget History! We all should look forward to the future, right? So why should we learn history anyway?"

The rest of the girls could only stare at her in disbelief. They were too amused to Honoka's antic to even come out with a reply

"Oh, right! I forget about―"

"There's still more?!"

Before Honoka could finish, Hanayo and Rin cut her off with their shout.

"Haaaa, I know that Honoka-chan's grades aren't good, but to think that you failed so many subjects... how disappointing nya." Rin raised her shoulders and shook her head slowly.

"I don't want to hear that from Rin-chan!" Honoka covered her ears with her hands and shut her eyes tight.

"R-Rin-chan, don't pester Honoka-chan anymore." Hanayo was the one who saved the ginger-haired girl.

"Put the supplementary class aside, that means Rin-chan and Honoka-chan will not be able to go with Kotori-chan, right?" Nozomi looked at her juniors.

Both joined their hands and bowed low.

"We're very sorry, Kotori-chan," Honoka said with a voice more like an old man than her own did.

"Sorry, Kotori-chan" Rin copied Honoka.

Kotori shook her head and smiled, albeit they could saw some disappointment on her face.

"It's all right. You don't have to apologize; it's my fault for asking in such a short notice. Besides, there's still Hanayo-chan and Nozomi-chan."

As soon as she finished saying that, Hanayo and Nozomi did the exact same thing like Honoka and Rin second ago.

"We're very sorry, Kotori-chan!"

"Eh-eh?"

"My parent wants me to come by their place this summer." Nozomi was the first one who stated her reason.

"And I-I got myself a part-time job in a Rice Restaurant. T-there's this idol BD that I really want and I kind of short on money so..." fidgeting in her chair, Hanayo followed.

Just like a soldier being commanded in a marching, the four of them got up from their seat, moved until they were in front of Kotori and bowed in unison.

"We're sorry, Kotori-chan!"

Of course, their unusual behavior attracted other customer's attention, which became hard for Kotori to handle alone.

"I-it's okay everyone, you don't have to go this far! R-raise your head please, people start looking at me in a weird way...!" Kotori said in a small yet demanding tone, her arms were flailing helplessly.

Realized that what Kotori said was true, the four of them raised their heads and returned back to their seat. They continued to eat their food normally until all those weird stares finally died down.

"But Kotori-chan, are you okay going by yourself?" Honoka restarted the conversation, this time, quieter.

"Honoka-chan is right. Nagoya is far you know." Nozomi added their concerns.

Kotori fell in silence. Her eyes looking down on her joined hands. She knew that they were right. Nagoya is far. Not to mention that this was the first time she went on a trip more than 300 km alone. There were so many insecurities within herself. Part of her said that she should just turn down Umi's invitation and spend her holiday here with her friends. The other part wanted to go there and meet the bluenette. It couldn't be denied that she missed Sonoda Umi. It's already been two months since their first meeting took place. Although they still communicating by message every now and then, Kotori started to forget some crucial things about Sonoda Umi. Like how she looks like when she smiled and embarrassed. Or how she sounds like when she worried and laughed. She missed the entire existence named Sonoda Umi. For sure, her desire to see the bluenette overpowered her anxiety.

"Thank you for worrying about me." Kotori gripped her hands tighter and made a decision. She raised her face and opened her mouth.

"I will still go there by myself. I'll give you all update in everything I do in the group-chat. I promise. So, don't worry okay?" Kotori gave her friends the best smile she got, hoping that it would sweep off their worry.

Honoka, Rin, Hanayo, and Nozomi shared a look and finally nodded in agreement.

"Well if Kotori-chan said so..." Honoka let out a smile.

The ginger-haired girl just realized that her childhood friend has grown. Before, Kotori would just follow her around whenever she went. However, for the first time, Kotori has made a decision for herself. Of course, Honoka wanted to support her fully.

"Just don't forget to keep us updated, Kotori-chan!" Rin reminded her ashen-haired friend.

It would be a lie if they didn't have any worry left. But they realized that as good friends, they shouldn't keep Kotori in a cage.

"I will!" Kotori nodded happily. "Thank you so much, everyone!"

* * *

Kotori was busy tidying her belonging for tomorrow's trip when her phone started buzzing. She already said to her mother that she would go to Nagoya to visit a friend and spend three days there. Of course, at first, her mother didn't allow her to. However, after Umi called her mother and assured her that Kotori was going to spend the night in Sonoda's house, finally she entrusted her daughter in Umi's hand. Kotori didn't really know what trick Umi played to her mom, nevertheless she didn't really care. She was happy enough that her mother allowed her to go.

It was already ten pm and Kotori wondered who would contact her that late at night. She grabbed her phone and found out that the buzz from before was a notification from her Twitter. She opened the application and tapped the notification tab immediately. It was a mention from no other than her childhood friend, Honoka.

' _sonodaumi you better take a good care of minamikotori Kotori-chan okay?'_

Kotori didn't know how to react. She was happy with how much Honoka cared for her. Yet it still was embarrassing to mention Umi bluntly like that. She typed her phone screen slowly.

' _kousakahonoka Honoka-chan, there's no way Umi-chan would still awake, she has a competition tomorrow.'_

In consideration to the bluenette, Kotori only replied to Honoka. Right, there was no way that Umi would still awake at this hour. She needed to rest her body so that she could do well tomorrow. She continued to fold several more clothes until finally she decided that it was enough. She put the bag beside her bed and laid herself down and her bed. Her thought started drifting off somewhere. Tomorrow, Kotori would finally able to meet the person she wanted to see the most. The plan was, coming before Umi's turn to appear. As the bluenette already told her, most likely her turn would be around eleven so it should be safe for Kotori to ride the seven o'clock train. Kotori was satisfied with her plan. Unconsciously, she smiled. What brought her back to reality was the sound of her buzzing phone. It was another notification from Twitter.

' _kousakahonoka minamikotori I can assure you that I will take good care of Kotori.'_

For a moment there, Kotori thought that her heart stopped beating. Then as if someone hammered a nail, her heart beat so hard it almost burst. The sudden change of rhythm made the blood flowed to her face faster; making it grew several shades darker. Kotori put her phone down and covered her face with both her hands. It was hot. Of course, it's summer after all. Not long after that, her phone started buzzing again.

' _sonodaumi minamikotori see? She's still awake Kotori-chan! Ahahaha'_

Soon after, Kotori's phone was non-stop buzzing.

' _kousakahonoka sonodaumi minamikotori Honoka-chan, why aren't you sleeping yet? You have class tomorrow morning you know'_

' _hoshizorarin sonodaumi minamikotori whooaaah you're right Rin-chan, I forgot :(_ _'_

' _hoshizorarin sonodaumi minamikotori kousakahonoka shouldn't you sleep too, Umi? You have a competition tomorrow.'_

' _nishikinomaki sonodaumi minamikotori kousakahonoka yeeeaaay Maki-chan is here /o/ Maki-chan, Maki-chan, Maki-chaaaan~'_

' _hoshizorarin sonodaumi minamikotori kousakahonoka wh-what is it, Rin?'_

' _nishikinomaki hoshizorarin sonodaumi minamikotori kousakahonoka geez, what's with all this commotion?'_

' _yazawanico nishikinomaki hoshizorarin sonodaumi minamikotori kousakahonoka Nico... they didn't even mention you... '_

' _ayaseeli yazawanico nishikinomaki hoshizorarin sonodaumi minamikotori kousakahonoka hello there Elicchi~'_

' _tojonozomi ayaseeli yazawanico nishikinomaki hoshizorarin sonodaumi minamikotori kousakahonoka everyone, it's late at night...'_

Realized that the conversation was getting nowhere, Kotori could only giggle to herself. Her friends were beyond amusing. She was glad that everyone was getting along so well. Just when she decided to close her Twitter, she received another notification and this time was addressed to her alone.

' _minamikotori I will see you tomorrow, Kotori.'_

Kotori's lips curled into a smile. She typed something in return.

' _sonodaumi yes, see you tomorrow, Umi-chan!'_

* * *

Kotori didn't know since when that the cold sweat on her forehead started to run down. She was supposed to be on the train right now but somehow ended up waiting for the train itself. It was almost eight already and there was still no sign of the train's arrival. When she arrived at the train station, she heard that the train she was going to take was having a trouble and expected to be late. But she didn't expect it to be this late. In the first place, it was weird enough for them to have a trouble. Now she was far beyond her schedule.

 _Why should it be today of all day?_

Kotori couldn't stop glancing at her wristwatch. Her thought was in disarray. One minute passed. Five, ten, and finally after another thirty minutes passed, her train arrived. Kotori immediately moved into her carriage, settled down her belonging, and made herself comfortable on her seat. She pulled out her phone and updated her status to the group like she promised to. She didn't forget to tell Umi about what happened and apologized if she couldn't come on time when it's Umi's turn. Of course, Umi's reply was that it's okay and she needed not to rush. All that matter was that she got there safely. Still, Kotori couldn't help feeling guilty. Umi invited her to watch her archery competition yet, here she was, unable to come on time and missed Umi's performance. Just when tears were gathered in the corner of her eyes, her phone buzzed once again.

' _Don't worry, if I manage to go to the semifinal, I will have another turn at two pm. Moreover, if I manage to go to the final, I get another turn at three. So, wish me luck, okay?'_

As if she could read Kotori's mind, Umi message came in a miraculous time. Kotori looked at her wristwatch. It's nine past twenty now, so if there were no other obstacles, she should be able to see Umi if she did advance to the semifinal. Kotori wiped away her tears and immediately replied Umi's message.

' _Thank you, Umi-chan. I will pray for your victory. Do your best :)_ _'_

After sending that last message, Kotori turned her phone off to save its battery. With the departure of the train, her first trip alone finally began. Since the trip was estimated for about three hours, sleeping was the best option Kotori got. She closed both her eyes and let the drowsiness took away her consciousness until everything went black. A train wasn't the best location there is to sleep. Occasionally, Kotori would awake because of the train movement. She would look at her watch and then decided whether to go back to sleep or checking her phone. And so on until it was time for her to got off the train.

Kotori looked at her watch. It's twelve and a half right now. She had an hour and a half to figure out where the competition took place. Finished with arranging her bag, Kotori pulled out some sort of paper from her pocket. Luckily, Kotori had taken a note beforehand. She asked Umi where the place was and searched it down in the internet. She has made herself some kind of map, and even if she got lost, she still has her phone GPS. Umi did offer her an escort to pick her up at the station. However, she didn't want to trouble anyone, so, she told the bluenette that she would be fine on her own. She started unfolding the paper and walked slowly, following the direction on the paper. She kept walking and walking, didn't realized that the big road before had turned into a narrow one.

 _This kind of bad..._

She tried to retrace her steps only to found herself more confused. She looked around trying to find a sign she recognizes but to no avail. Everywhere she looked was unfamiliar to her. Kotori immediately pulled out her phone and turned it back on. Suddenly her face went paler. No matter she did, her phone won't turn on.

 _Could it be that I forgot to turn it off before I went to sleep? Oh no, it can't be...!_

Kotori looked at her watch for she didn't know how many times. It was less than ten minutes before three. She didn't know that she had spent so many times walking around in a circle. Now, in this narrow road she didn't recognize, she's one hundred percent sure that she was lost. Tears were slowly beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. The first thought that came to her mind was how disappointed Umi would look. When she was about to break down, she remembered about Umi's last message.

 _So, wish me luck, okay?_

No, she couldn't give up now. She shook her head and quickly wiped away the tears. The first thing she had to do was to find a larger road and asked someone for direction. She tried to walk again, believing that she still have a lot of strength. But her feet told the otherwise. She was tired from all the walking before, and she hasn't had her lunch either. She didn't have any other choice than to rest for a while.

Looking around there was no café nearby so she settled to a small playground in the neighborhood. She spread her handkerchief and crouched beneath a tree shade.

 _What should I do now...?_

She let out a long sigh and buried her face in her knees. Small sobs could be heard.

 _Help me, Honoka-chan, Rin-chan, Hanayo-chan, Nozomi-chan..._

She remembered her friends who were worried about her. Alone, she felt hopeless.

 _Help me... Umi-chan...!_

Just when all the hope seems to slip away from her grasp, faintly Kotori could hear a familiar voice calling out for her name. She lifted her head to look for the source of the voice. Soon, she found the person she wanted to see most. Blue tresses tied in a messy ponytail filled her vision. When brown orbs met amber one, Kotori's face brightened in that instant.

"Kotori!"

The other person ran to her as fast as she could. Kotori realized that she was still wearing her _hakama_ and she wasn't even wearing shoes. Her face was full of sweat, probably from all the running she did. The person running towards her was a complete mess. Not that she mind. She was too touched to even open her mouth. All she could do was shed the tears she had been holding. With all the strength left inside of her, she forced herself to stand up and walked toward the other girl.

"Umi-chan!" Kotori threw herself to Umi's open arm and engulfed herself in the other girl presence.

"Kotori, I'm glad you are safe." Between her ragged breaths, Umi managed to say her line. She couldn't control herself and hugged the ashen-haired girl tighter. It wasn't something she would do in her normal mind.

They stayed like that for another ten minutes, until both of them finally calmed down. When she realized that she was holding Kotori with her hands, she retreat them immediately and started blushing.

"Uh, umm, Kotori...? Should we go now? It's getting late."

Umi's words were like a clue for her to let go of her wrapping hands. Just like Umi did, a tint of red could be seen from Kotori's cheeks. Umi took Kotori's bag with her and started walking, followed by Kotori.

"U-Umi-chan?" Kotori's hesitant call made the bluenette turned her head and let out a small 'hmm' and stopped.

"Can I- can I hold your hand?" albeit blushing madly, she managed to finish her sentence. The other girl didn't do better. Even if Kotori couldn't see it well because Umi had already looked back ahead, she could point out Umi's reddened ears.

Umi didn't answer Kotori's question. She just extended her hand backward. Without any second thought, Kotori took it and intertwined Umi's hand with her own. Umi started to walk again, with Kotori slightly behind her.

"Umi-chan, thank you."

The sky was starting to turned brighter orange. They walked in a comfortable silence, hand in hand.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N** : Hello everyone, I've risen from the dead (dramatic bgm) (this happened for the second time) I'm terribly sorry for the super duper late update. I've just landed myself get a job recently so my life is a little hectic now (excuse) and whenever I have time to write my nephew always asked me to play with him (more excuse). Nevertheless, I hope everyone who reads this enjoys the story and as usual, I'm sorry for my bad English and any mistakes, be it grammar or typo.

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Love Live!

* * *

"Umi, calm down, will you? I bet she'll be here in no time!"

Nico's eye was glued to the sight in front of her and she couldn't help but sigh. Umi was supposed to be resting because she will have her final archery match in thirty minutes. Yet she wasn't even sitting down right now. Wearing her _hakama,_ she walked in a never-ending circle while sometimes checking her phone.

"Nico-chan is right Umi, you should calm down. She's not a child and I'm sure she can find her way here herself." Sitting beside Nico, Maki twirled her scarlet hair with the tip of her finger.

"Yes, I know that Nico is right. However, isn't it weird that Kotori didn't even tell me her whereabouts? She said she had already arrived at the station two hours ago. Isn't two hours enough time to get here by now? Yet Kotori didn't even send me one text. What if she got lost?" Swinging her hands in a frantic movement, Umi didn't stop walking in a circle. In fact, her walk was getting faster.

Nico, Maki, and Eli could only exchange glances. This was the first time they saw Sonoda Umi acting like this. She really was losing her calm and it was really a rare situation. One would think that she was acting that way because she would face her final match in the next thirty minutes. But, if they found out the real reason behind her panic behaviour, Nico, Maki, and Eli bet that they would just frown their forehead in confusion just like they did.

Despite having known Kotori for only three months, Umi felt an unexplainable attraction toward the ashen-haired girl. Maybe it's because of Kotori's angelic smile? Maybe because her soft and shooting voice that always managed to calm Umi's heart? Or maybe because Kotori was simply beautiful? Umi didn't know. What she knew for sure was that this is a first for her. She never felt something like this towards anyone else. She remembered about last night conversation with Honoka. She said that she would 'take a good care of Kotori'. Yet here she was, didn't even know where Kotori is right now. Of course, she couldn't calm and sit down. If something bad happened to Kotori, Umi sure she couldn't forgive herself.

"Should I go and search for her then?" Eli's voice brought Umi back to reality. Looking at the panic bluenette has somehow made herself panic too. Eli got up from her seat.

"If that can help you to calm down even a bit, I'll offer my aid as well." Maki followed Eli.

"And maybe I'll stay here and take care of your phone, in case she messages you or something," Nico said half joking.

"Nico!"

"Nico-chan!"

Eli and Maki glared at the raven-haired girl and hissed in unison.

"I know, I know!" Nico arose from her seat and sighed. "I was only joking."

"I know that you're not that smart, but to joke at a crucial time like this?" Maki said in a small voice, hoping that Nico wouldn't hear that. However, Nico's ear was ten times sharper when someone said something bad about her. Therefore, more or less, she heard it anyway.

"What did you say?" Now it was Nico's turn to glare at the redhead.

"Come on you two, save your fight for another day. Now we have to focus on helping Umi." Eli grabbed both Nico and Maki's shoulder with her hands. They could clearly see that Eli was starting to lost her patience, so they could only respond 'yes' obediently.

"Now, where should we start searching?" Nico freed herself from Eli's grasp and stretched her arms.

"Should we start from the station? Then we can split up from there." Maki suggested.

"Alright, we'll go with Maki's plan." After getting approval from Eli, the three of them prepared to go to the station. "We'll contact you as soon as we find her, so you should focus on your final match, okay?" Eli faced Umi and placed both her hands on Umi's shoulder.

"I..." Umi opened her mouth.

"I'll forfeit the match and search for Kotori with all of you."

"Eeeeeehhhhh!?" The three of them shouted in unison.

* * *

Umi had been running for almost an hour. She searched for every possible place that Kotori might be, but she still couldn't find her. She had tried to call Kotori's phone but none of her attempts come through. She assumed that Kotori's phone was already dead at this point. Ignoring the sweat that started to dripping from her forehead, Umi continued to run. Desperately, she called out for Kotori. Unfortunately, there's still no sign of her at all. Finally, Umi's feet gave up and she came to a stop. She took a deep breath. She needed to calm herself. It's no use if she kept running around aimlessly like this.

After calmed herself down, she retraced her step from the station. She tried to think like Kotori. Umi was sure that there was no way Kotori came her unprepared. She must bring some kind of guide with her. Umi asked to the nearest police station from the station and the result wasn't satisfying. But, she did get a testimony of someone who's resembling Kotori was walking down the street hours ago. Feeling that she was getting closer to where Kotori was, Umi started to run again. From the big road, she ran to a narrower one. When she looked at her surroundings, the road was indeed confusing for someone who didn't know the area that well. It was a perfect place for someone to get lost.

The sun was about to set and Umi's worry growing even more. If the sky turned dark already, searching for Kotori would be much more difficult. After several minutes running desperately, she came to a small playground in a slightly deserted neighbourhood. She looked around the playground, hoping that Kotori would be there. She couldn't express how relief she was when she spotted a familiar ashen-haired girl sitting beneath a tree.

 _Kotori?_

Umi walked and eventually ran to the girl's direction. When she convinced that the girl she saw was indeed Kotori, she called out her name loud.

"Kotori!"

Umi ignored her leg's protest, her messy appearance, her full of sweat body and run straight ahead to Kotori with her open arms. Kotori stood up and walked with a stagger to her.

"Umi-chan!"

Umi felt Kotori's warm body on her and immediately wrapped her hands around the ashen-haired girl.

"Kotori, I'm glad you are safe."

Even though her breath hasn't returned to normal, Umi wanted to express her relief. She truly glad that nothing bad happened to Kotori except maybe got lost for almost six hours. She poured all her emotion into a hug. For Sonoda Umi to hug someone in public like this, she never has imagined it before. Not until ten minutes has passed when Umi finally realise that she was still holding Kotori close to her. Kotori did not show any sign to let her go either.

"Uh, umm, Kotori…? Should we go now? It's getting late." Trying her hard to say it without stuttering, Umi thanked the setting sun for hiding her blushing face right now.

Umi took Kotori's bag with her and started walking with Kotori followed slightly behind.

"U-Umi-chan?"

Umi could Kotori's hesitant call.

"Hmm?" The bluenette turned her head and stopped.

"Can I- can I hold your hand?"

Umi was taken aback by Kotori's sudden request. She immediately turned her head back to the front to hide her reddened face. She couldn't look Kotori in the eyes yet she didn't want to turn down Kotori's request. Slowly, she extended her free hand to the back as her answer. When she felt Kotori's hand intertwined with hers, she felt warm inside.

"Thank you, Umi-chan."

And at those words, Umi couldn't help but smile. Although she didn't win today's competition, she had got her prize already. Walking together with Kotori, accompanied by the sun setting, hand-in-hand.

* * *

"Umi, did you find her?"

Spotting Umi's profile in the corner of her eyes, Eli immediately stood up from her seat. Eli, Nico, and Maki were already waiting at their rendezvous point. After searching for Kotori for almost three hours, they couldn't help but surrender their self to their fatigue. Their searching was resulted to no avail since they couldn't find the ashen-haired girl anywhere and Umi was the only hope left. Nervously, all three of them shifted their eyes to the figure walking behind Umi. When they have confirmed that person identity, they let out a long, relief sigh.

"Geez, where the heck have you been?" While drinking the juice she bought earlier, Nico handed Umi and Kotori a juice each.

"I'm sorry and thank you." Kotori took the juice that Nico offered and smiled apologetically.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Noticed Kotori's funny way of walking, Maki asked her.

"Ah, no, I'm just a little tired that's all." Kotori waved her hand in front of her face.

"I see." After convinced that that was the reason, Maki turned her head to Umi and looked at Umi's shoeless feet. "How about you, Umi?"

"I'm fine, Maki. Thank you." Grateful for her friend's consideration, Umi gave her a smile.

"You should have let me or Maki come and get you, Kotori." Eli let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Eli-chan. I just don't want to trouble any of you." Kotori apologized once again.

"Next time you shouldn't worry about something so trivial like that." Eli patted Kotori's head and let out another sigh. "We're friends, right?"

"Yes!" Kotori nodded happily.

Looking at Eli and Kotori exchanging words in a casual manner, somehow made Umi's chest felt funny. She didn't realize that Kotori and Eli were this close before. What exactly was she felt right now? She didn't know. She was happy to see her friend get along well with Kotori, but, on the other side, she felt like she was being left out of the circle.

"And why didn't you say my name earlier, Eli?" Nico shot a glance to Eli's direction.

"W-well, it's getting late, so we should really go home!" Eli dodged Nico's question.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Nico stomped her feet on the ground but still, no one gave their attention to her.

"You're right, I'm beat up." After massaging her legs, Maki got up from her seat and prepared to go home.

"You're going to ignore me too!?" Nico now turned to look at Maki.

"Shut it Nico-chan, we are all exhausted right now. We better go home and get some rest." Maki let out a long sigh. She didn't have any energy left to deal with Nico.

"Haaaa…. I guess I should agree with you for today." Feeling tired herself Nico stopped her talking.

"All right then, let's just meets tomorrow and we can hang out again together," Eli suggested.

Everyone nodded in agreement. After parting their ways, without realized Umi and Kotori's hand were joined together again. They walked silently to Sonoda residence. After they have arrived, they were greeted by the warm smile of Umi's mother. Both of them told to have their bath first and then joined a dinner together with Umi's father. Umi explained today's situation to her parents, how Kotori was unable to be contacted, and why she chose to forfeit her last match. She expected her father to get angry with her but surprisingly, what she received was a compliment. Like how she able to choose what was more important and thought of others before herself. Her father said that he was proud of her.

After finished with their dinner, Umi brought Kotori to her room and they fell into an awkward silence. They were sitting across from each other, but neither of them dared to look at the other in their face. Kotori was the one who broke the silent.

"Umi-chan, I'm sorry for all the commotion I've caused today." With face still looking down, she apologized to Umi.

"Didn't I tell you not to apologize anymore? It's not your fault, Kotori." Umi shifted closer to where Kotori was when she suddenly grimaced a little.

"Umi-chan!?"

Hearing Umi's pained voice Kotori finally lifted her face and looked at the bluenette. However, when Kotori looked at Umi, the bluenette expression was already back to normal. It's as if that pained voice earlier didn't come from Umi. But Kotori wasn't convinced. She realized that something wasn't right. She looked at Umi carefully, from head to toes when finally she found the source of Umi's pain. It was her feet. Of course, why didn't Kotori noticed it before? Umi has been running for hours without shoes. Her feet must be scuffed right now.

"Umi-chan, I'm sorry but let me see your feet!"

Suddenly, Kotori grabbed one of Umi's feet. She examined it and after confirmed what she saw, she grabbed the other one.

"Eeek! Wha- Ko-Kotori, what are you doing!?"

Umi couldn't hide the pain and embarrassment and unconsciously, let out a weird sound.

"As I thought…" Kotori put Umi's feet back on the floor. "Why didn't you tell me that you hurt your feet?" Kotori's expression was a mix of anger and guilt.

"Because it's only a minor injury, it will heal in no time. You're exaggerating, Kotori."

Be told as such by Umi, Kotori pouted.

"I-I mean, to be honest, yes, it hurts a little." Umi rephrased her answer and this time, what she got was a sigh from Kotori.

"You should have told me, Umi-chan. Wait here." Kotori moved over to where her bag was and rummaged it. After she found what she was looking, she took it out.

It was a small first aid kit box. Looking at that, Umi's eyes widened in amazement.

"You sure are well prepared." The bluenette commented.

"Well, I'm the member of the school's health committee after all." Kotori puffed her cheeks proudly. "This going to sting a little so bear with it, okay?"

Umi nodded as the response. Kotori sprayed Umi's wound with an antiseptic and cleaned it. Umi grimaced a little but didn't seem to pay any mind. After Kotori was sure that Umi's wound is clean, she put some ointment in it and last, cover it with some Band-Aid.

"There, it's done." Kotori wiped the sweat from her forehead, feeling satisfied with her work.

"Thank you." Umi muttered slowly.

Kotori looked at Umi and let out a complicated smile.

"Next time, please don't do something so reckless like that again, alright?"

Umi nodded again. It seems that she didn't have that many vocabularies when she was with Kotori. Or maybe because she was just too shy to looked Kotori in the eyes. She didn't know for sure. What she knew was that being together with Kotori in one room make her heart beat faster than usual.

"It looks like we shouldn't go anywhere tomorrow. I'll contact Eli-chan and tell her that we have to cancel our plan." Kotori reached for her phone on the table and started typing something on it.

Hearing Kotori brought Eli's name out, Umi felt tense. It was the same feeling she felt earlier when Kotori and Eli exchanging casual words with each other. She could feel that her hands started shaking lightly. She gulped and slowly brought up the topic.

"Kotori, you seem really close with Eli." Umi hoped that she didn't sound ridiculous when she said that.

"Hmm? Is that so?" Kotori shifted her attention from her phone to Umi.

"Yes, it is."

"I don't think that we are that close but, Eli-chan is indeed nice." Kotori smiled happily.

"I see." Umi replied a little testily.

Hearing Umi's curt answer, a mischievous grin appeared on Kotori's face.

"Umi-chan, are you perhaps…jealous?"

Without thinking, Umi blurted out her honest feeling.

"Of course I am!"

In that instant, Kotori's face grew several shades darker. Her hearts pumped the blood to her face too fast. Kotori's tease was backfired to herself. She couldn't say anything in return and just looked down to hide her blushing face. Umi's reaction was several second slower. If it wasn't for Kotori reddened face, she wouldn't have noticed what she said was too blunt and embarrassing. The two blushing mess were now looking down and never dare to peek at the other. Not only after five minutes passed, had Kotori decided that should they go to sleep and get some rest. After putting off the light and making themselves comfortable on the futon, Kotori whispered slowly. She didn't know how many times she has said it today, but she never got tired of it.

"Umi-chan, thank you."

* * *

"How could this happen?" Umi let out a big sigh.

After Kotori told her to get rest and let her feet healed, yesterday all she did was chatting with Kotori in her house. They didn't go anywhere and had to cancel their plan to meet up with Eli, Maki, and Nico. Supposedly, they would go out today together to make up for yesterday. But just after Kotori and Umi arrived at their destination today, suddenly Eli, Maki, and Nico said they couldn't come because something urgent happened. Umi thought that their reasoning was a bit fishy. For the three of them to have a business at the same time? Most likely, they did this on purpose so that Umi could be alone with Kotori. Not that she hate the idea, it's just that she didn't know how to act properly in front of the ashen-haired girl. She always got nervous whenever she was alone with Kotori.

Today, their destination was the amusement park.

"Come on, Umi-chan, let's ride that!" Kotori pointed her finger to one of the available attractions. She took Umi's hand and dragged her along while bouncing lightly.

"Eh? Roller coaster already? Shouldn't we go with a lighter attraction first as a warm up?" Umi looked unsettled. She was sure that her breakfast this morning wasn't fully digested yet. Moreover, she didn't want to throw it up.

"Umi-chan, no fun." Kotori pouted. "Then, what do you suggest?"

"Maybe, th-that will do..." Umi pointed to another attraction.

"Merry-go-round?" Kotori tilted her head to the side. Umi nodded slowly. Kotori clenched her chest. Umi was looking really cute right now. She giggled to herself. Looking at a rare sight like that, of course, Kotori couldn't say no.

"Alright then, let's go~"

They walked to where the merry-go-round was. It's not that crowded. Most were children and their parents. There's some couple riding together too. After finished riding the carousel, they started searching for another light, not too crowded ride that fit Umi likes. Without realizing, they've already ridden five light attractions and it's already time for lunch. They went to the nearest restaurant inside the site to eat. They spend some time chit chatting inside. When they went back outside, the site was more crowded than before. Umi offered her hand and Kotori took it. It seems like since Kotori's lost incident, holding hand was a natural thing for them. Between the crowds, they tightened their grip, so that they wouldn't get separated.

"So, what do you want to ride next, Kotori?" Umi looked to her side where the ashen-haired girl was.

"I know! Come over her Umi-chan." Kotori dragged Umi by hand until they finally stopped in front of an attraction.

Looking at the attraction in front of her, Umi frowned. "Haunted house...?"

Kotori nodded happily as her response. Umi looked at Kotori in disbelief. She didn't know how to react. She always thought that Kotori likes cute things and never imagined that she was into something like this too.

"It's not too crowded, and it's really cool inside~" Kotori state her reasoning. Even if she didn't state it, in the end, Umi would follow Kotori's request whatever it is.

They entered the haunted house with Kotori linking her arm to Umi's arm. The inside of the house was indeed cool. They could even feel a small breeze every now and then. As they walked further inside, the lights were getting dimmer and the air getting cooler.

"Umi-chan, there's no one here except us." Kotori tightened her grip on Umi's arm.

"I-indeed." Umi couldn't concentrate on their conversation at all. She was too conscious of Kotori's body sticking so close to her own. All she could do was nod in agreement. After she has adjusted to Kotori's body heat beside her, she finally started to gain her composure back.

"It's alright Kotori if something appears, I will..."

"No, you can't chop them in the head." Kotori cut her off before Umi could finish her sentence.

"In that case, I will..."

"You can't chop them on the back of their neck either." Kotori giggled. She could guess what Umi was going to say already.

"Then what should I do?" Umi frowned. She only wanted to protect Kotori, yet everything seems wrong in Kotori's eyes. Well, of course, chopping someone until they lose consciousness was something wrong.

"Just a 'kyaaa' will be enough, Umi-chan."

"Kyaaa?" Umi tilted her head in confusion.

Not too long after that, someone disguised as a woman ghost appeared in front of them. All those conversations with Umi before became useless in that instant. Umi, out of instinct, immediately took a stance and prepared to chop the poor soul in their head. If it were not for Kotori who stop Umi's hand midway, the poor soul in disguise would probably knock out on the floor by now. After apologizing many times, they continued their walk to the exit. Kotori wondered how Umi could be so calm inside a haunted house yet so terrified when she watched a romance movie yesterday night. That was a part that Kotori likes about Umi. She was full of surprises. Like how she forfeited her match just to searched for her. She never thought that Umi would do that.

After that, they continued to ride several more attractions. Today was filled with laughter and scream. It's one of those really rare days where they could meet. It's one of those rare days where they could spend the day together. They played again and again until the sky turned dark gray.

"Umi-chan, I want to ride that for the last." Kotori pointed to another attraction and Umi smiled knowingly. She already expected that Kotori would save Ferris wheel for the last.

"Very well. Shall we go?" Umi extended her hand and Kotori took it immediately. Umi has grown accustomed to holding Kotori's hand.

They rode the Ferris wheel in silent. Both looking outside, admiring the beautiful night view below. It's not as if they could see it from a higher point every day, so they burned the beautiful scenery to their memories. The sun had completed its tour for the day. Instead of looking at the stars above them, they looked to the one on below. There were many colors painted the city. Light, warm yellow emitted from someone else's house, bright red that came from the passing cars, dazzling white from the pedestrian light, it was so colorful. They really enjoyed this moment together.

"Kotori, would you mind singing something for me?" Umi turned her head and suddenly asked the other girl a favor.

"I don't mind. What song does Umi-chan want to hear?" Kotori replied. Umi was almost never made a request to her. Doing something that could please Umi was enough for Kotori to get happy herself. Not to mention she still hasn't done something to reply Umi's kindness.

"Anything is fine, as long as it's Kotori who sing."

Umi didn't know where she got all those guts for today. She talked with Kotori without stuttering much, held her hands casually, and looking straight into Kotori's eyes without wavering. She needed to thank Eli, Maki, and Nico for the opportunity they have given to her today. She never felt happier than this. Spending time with Kotori was truly blissful.

"Alright." Kotori cleared her throat before opening her mouth again.

 _"I know happy holiday, happy holiday_

 _My heart's bursting open honestly_

 _I say happy holiday, happy holiday_

 _I love you, so it's great happy time."_

After Kotori finished her song, she earned applause and a warm smile from the bluenette.

"I really like Kotori's voice after all." Umi gazed at the ashen-haired girl in front of her, full of affection that eventually made the other girl blushed. She realized that what she said before was cheesy, but that was what she really felt.

"Tha-thank you." Kotori avoided Umi's gaze. She couldn't look at Umi's face any longer. Still, the other party hasn't averted her gaze at all.

"Kotori, do you have fun today?"

"Of course! Thank you so much for bringing me here today." Kotori smiled wholeheartedly. She really had a lot of fun today. It's not because they went to the amusement park, but because they managed to spend this day together. She didn't know if they could meet again in the near future. Thus, she was really glad they could be together today.

Looking at Kotori's smile, Umi's mind went blank. She didn't know what got into her that could make her did something so bold. Umi suddenly moved forward and closed their gap. Kotori could feel Umi's soft lip grazed her forehead. At that moment, her body heat rise and so did her heartbeat. She could feel a warm feeling in her chest. She clutched it with both her hands. When Umi moved back to her seat across from Kotori, the ashen-haired girl's face was burning. Umi didn't do any better. Even though the lighting was dim, both of them could see it clearly.

"Ko-Kotori, what should I do?" Umi covered her mouth with the back of her hand and shifted her eyes from Kotori. "I think I like you."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N** : I... really have no excuse for this lateness... As always, sorry for my terrible grammar and hope you guys enjoy this!

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Love Live!

* * *

"To sum it all you confessed to her?" Shifting her eyes from the book she was holding, Maki asked Umi.

Golden Week was over and Kotori was already back to Tokyo. It was another day at school and Umi was telling about everything that happened during her day out with Kotori in the amusement park. She told her friend every part of it without any exception. Of course, that included the part where she kissed Kotori's forehead and the part where she said that she like Kotori. Umi could never keep a secret from Eli, Maki, and Nico. Therefore, she thought that came clean with everything was better than holding it all for herself. Besides, she did want to ask for an advice from her friends. She still didn't really understand the meaning of her own feeling.

"I don't think that was count as a confession, but... yes I did." Umi's face was reddened as she said her acknowledgement.

"Umi, do you like me?" Across from her seat, Nico asked Umi out of the blue.

"Of course, I…like you?" Didn't really understand the point of Nico's question, Umi answered honestly.

"In the same way you like Kotori?" Nico added another question.

This time, it took Umi several second to answer. "I... don't think it is the same..." Again, her face was getting red.

"It's definitely love." Nico said her conclusion to both Eli and Maki.

"It is. She even kissed her." Maki agreed with Nico.

"You're right, it must be love." Eli nodded.

For Sonoda Umi to fall in love with someone, Eli, Maki, and Nico never thought that something like that was possible. Of course, it was, but not at her age right now. Eli, Nico, and Maki had always thought that Umi's first love would bloom late, like, when she was around 24 or 25. Because, duh, Umi was so dense. She couldn't even figure out a love letter if it wasn't for Nico or Eli pointing that out. Well, it wasn't as if they always talked about that subject, but every time they brought it up, Umi had never shown any interest at all. So, what made Minami Kotori different from the other? They never really considered Umi's first love would be a girl. It surprised them yet it wasn't at the same time. For Umi to fall in love in the first place, it was surprising enough.

"Umi, you have grown up..." Eli patted Umi's shoulder.

"Wha-what!?" Didn't really understand the meaning behind Eli's word, she shifted her eyes between her three friends.

All the other three did was grinning at her and it made her more confused. She wanted an explanation about her feeling but what she got was being teased.

Love.

Was it really love that she felt towards Kotori? Wasn't she just confused it with admiration? After all she had just met Kotori a few months ago, and it's not like she always saw her every day. But when Nico asked her if she liked Kotori in the same way as Nico, she could tell right away that it was a different kind of like. So what did she felt toward the ashen-haired girl? Was it really love after all?

 _I never know that defining my own feeling is complicated._ Umi let out a big sigh.

"I don't really understand this kind of thing. Am I suppose to hold into this kind of feeling? Don't you all find this feeling of mine inappropriate? I like someone who is the same sex as me. It is, weird, is it not?"

"Umi..." Eli looked at the bluenette beside her worriedly. Never once she saw Umi this depressed. This was more serious than she thought. Eli tried to rearrange her thought to find the right word to say to her, when Nico suddenly broke the silence.

"So what if it's a girl?" Nico said it straight to Umi's face. "Umi, listen to me. Love knows no gender. If you're really in love with Kotori, what's wrong about that? She's the one your heart chooses, so you should just go to her, and say what you really feel." Nico finished her word without doing any stupid stance that might ruined it.

"Nico..."

Nico's word left a big impression. Umi knew that Nico was right. She knew that her heart already chosen someone. All this time she wasted her opportunity to told Kotori about her feeling because she was afraid that Kotori would find it disgusting.

 _Come to think of it, it was a miracle... for me to have the chance to know and met Kotori. Should I really tell her about my feeling? I don't want to destroy this comfortable relationship between us by my selfish desire..._

Umi let out another big sigh. She seemed haven't made her choice yet. Although she realized that all that Nico said was right, she still afraid to take the first step. She still afraid of the risk, and that wasn't like her at all. Whatever she did, she always do it with all of might. Never once she had doubt like this before.

"Umi..."

Umi looked up to the source of the sound and found out that Maki was looking at her with a serious expression.

"You know, whatever your decision is, I will always be on your side." Maki looked to Eli and Nico then shifted her eyes back to Umi. "No, WE will always be on your side." Maki ended her sentence with a smile.

"Maki..." Umi called her friend's name quietly.

She remembered her first archery tournament. Almost the same like this situation, she felt really unsecure. But she knew that once she made the choice, she had the duty to see it through the end. Taking the first step was scary for everything. Nevertheless, if she didn't take this first step, she knew that she's going to regret it someday.

"Thank you, Eli, Maki, Nico. I'm really glad to have amazing friends like the three of you." Umi smiled sincerely. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth again.

"I've made my decision."

* * *

' _minamikotori Kotori, is it alright if I give you a visit?'_

Looking at her phone screen over and over again, Kotori couldn't help but smiled. She checked the sender once again and convinced that it was the real Sonoda Umi. It's been two months since the last time she saw Umi. Exams were over and finally the long awaited summer vacation started. Kotori had thought of coming to Nagoya again to meet Umi, but she wasn't sure about that. She didn't want to burden the Sonoda household by her visit. Although she did want to see Umi. That's why she couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear. Umi's sudden mention was a surprise. She did prayed hard enough to be able to meet Umi as soon as possible. It seems that God heard her prayer.

Kotori rolled on her bed. Umi was coming tomorrow, but today, she didn't have anything to do. Honoka and Rin had a supplementary class during the summer vacation. Nozomi said she was going to meet with her parents, while Hanayo gone on a vacation with her family. She wanted it to be tomorrow already but she knew that she didn't have that kind of power. She sighed. It was afternoon now and she decided that she would take a little walk to calm both her heart and mind.

Wearing a hat that protect her from the blazing summer sun, she walked out from her house with no real destination. Her mind was wandering around here, there, and everywhere. She remembered her date with Umi before.

 _Wait, was it alright for me to call it a date?_

The two of them were playing in the amusement park. It was really fun, and unforgettable. Not that she had forgotten any moment including Sonoda Umi in it, but that amusement park date leaved a special impression for her. At their last ride, inside the Ferris wheel, Umi kissed her forehead. It was the first time she had been kissed by someone. On top of that, Umi even said that she likes her. Kotori wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not, but the sensation Umi's lip left on her forehead, and the throbbing heartbeat she felt was real. She had a few clues about Umi's feeling for her, but she didn't want to make her own assumption.

So, how about her? How did she felt about Umi? Kotori longed for Umi. It was a fact. Every time she imagined the blue-haired girl, her heart would start pumping blood faster to her whole body. Had she felt something like that toward someone before? The answer was no. When she talked to Nozomi about her feelings, the purple-haired girl concluded that Kotori was in love with Umi. The one who's surprised by the result was Kotori herself, while Nozomi just smiling in a carefree way. Kotori did have some crush before, but it was the first time she experienced this feeling. She really wanted to be together with Umi. That feeling was strong enough to make her didn't care about their sexuality. Sure, some would find it weird or even disgusting, but for her to fall in love with Sonoda Umi, she thought that it was the most natural thing for her. Umi made her felt comfortable and safe.

Nevertheless, getting happy with her own feeling wasn't enough. She needed to know how Umi felt about her. Although she was prepared if someone else said her feeling was disgusting, she didn't know what will happen if Umi was the one who said that. That's why she was afraid to tell her real feeling for Umi.

"But it's no good if I keep feeling like that… I wouldn't know her feeling. I guess I have no other choice than to ask her directly." Kotori let out a sigh.

Her fear was genuine. She didn't want to lose the relationship she had with Umi, but if she didn't tell Umi about her real feeling, they were never going to get anywhere. Kotori had decided that she would tell Umi about her feeling the next time they met again. But, could she really?

Without realizing, Kotori arrived at her destination. It was a convenience store near her house. Ice cream would be a good tool to calm her heart. She was about to get in, when she heard someone's voice.

"U-Um, e-excuse me!"

Kotori turned around to find a boy was looking at her. His face was bright red and it was clearly, not because of the heat. Judging from his looks, Kotori knew that he was a high school student like her. She didn't recognized that boy so she assumed that he was just about to ask a direction or something like that.

"Yo-you're Minami Kotori-san, right?" The boy said stuttered. He was really stiff, like a statue.

"Y-yes. Who might you be?" Kotori looked through the archive inside her brain. She was sure she didn't know the boy in front of her, so why did he know her name?

"My name is Mikamoto Kenji. I- I followed your twitter and I really thought that you're be-beautiful, and it's such an amazing co-coincidence to meet you here!"

The boy was a mess. He stuttered again and again and his face was much redder than before. She have an idea about what he was going to say. She had read this kind of situation before in a novel. Kotori heard the sound of the opened door from the convenience store. She wanted to brush the boy off and went inside immediately, but that would be so rude to the boy.

"I-if you don't have someone you like right now… wo-would you like to be my girlfriend?!" The boy named Mikamoto Kenji bowed deeply.

Kotori didn't know what to do. It all happened so fast. All she did was standing on her feet.

 _Oh no, what should I do?! Ri-right, I need to reply to him first._

"U-um, I-"

.

.

.

"Kotori?"

Kotori's voice was cut by a sudden interruption. Kotori, recognized the voice called out to her immediately turned her head. Standing behind her was the girl she wanted to see the most. The person who just come out from the convenience store, was…

"Umi…chan?"

* * *

 **A/N** (2) : Umm, hi? It's been so long since I wrote something, real life really got me busy, especially since I'm starting a job and now was a part of society (please ignore this). So, yeah, the next chapter might be the final one and I did planned to make this chapter M-rated. So, should I make it M-rated or should I not? Anyway, thank you for those who still sticking around with me until now. I will try my best to finish this fic without making you guys wait for too long. So, wish me luck and thank you for reading~


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